Reader offered $200 for inaugural parade tickets

At 10 a.m. PST, Ticketmaster is going to have one of the world’s most popular Web sites.

Five-thousand $25 dollar tickets to the 2009 Inaugural Parade will go on sale on the site at that time. And thousands, perhaps millions of Americans, will want them.

The tickets are not assigned, but guarantee a seat in the bleachers along the parade route on Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues in Washington D.C. when the parade begins around 2:30 p.m. January 20.

The Internet has opened the political process to millions, but it’s also emphasized the limits of physical space. Everyone could read blog posts about last year’s historical presidential campaign. Not everyone is going to get to see the winner up close on his big day.

If you’re hovering over the keyboard, waiting for the clock to strike, good luck.

Update, 11:16: Hearing from several people who were not able to get through and gave up. But one reader who says he’s from New York City left a comment below saying he’d purchased two tickets in the first minute. In an e-mail, he explained how:

I literally just kept refreshing the page every second from about 12:58 on since I didn’t know if my clock was the same as Ticketmasters – but sure enough at exactly 1 p.m. the Ticketmaster page reloaded and it was available to purchase.

The reader, named Mark, also reports he’s getting email offers as high as $200 for his two $25 tickets. He won’t be the only one.